US Health Chief Embryo gene editing great shock

>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=194E5wuluEY

(3 Dec 2018) Early last year, a little-known Chinese researcher turned up at an elite meeting in Berkeley, California, where scientists and ethicists were discussing a technology that had shaken the field to its core — an emerging tool for editing genes, the strings of DNA that form the blueprint of life. • The young scientist, He Jiankui, saw the power of this tool, called CRISPR, to transform not only genes, but also his own career. • He now says he helped make the world's first gene-edited babies, despite clear scientific consensus that making genetic changes that could be passed to future generations should not be attempted at this point. • U.S. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins called He's actions outrages. • Collins has done ground-breaking work on gene research as well, and said how He is doing his research crosses the boundaries of ethical limits that virtually everybody has agreed to. • Some have defended He's work, saying there's no certain way to stop someone intent on monkeying with DNA, no matter what laws or standards are in place. • We all worried that at some point there might come a time where somebody would take it upon themselves to apply this same technology to an embryo and then try to create a baby from that. But I did not expect it to happen at this point, said Collins. • Collins acknowledged there is a long history in science and medicine of researchers launching experiments prematurely that were met with scorn or horror — some of which led to what are now common practices, such as in-vitro fertilization. • Collins said that while science tends to reward the bold, he believes He will not be remembered as a pioneer. • This will not be looked at in 20 years as a major advance. It will be looked at as a shining example of how a rogue scientist was capable to hide what he was doing, cross boundaries and actually cast very negative light on the scientific community's ability to manage their own affairs, said Collins. • Collins also said what He did would most certainly be illegal in the United States. • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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